Meera Garud Appointed as LIS Instructor

The LIS Program is happy to announce the appointment of Meera Garud as a full-time Instructor. Meera will be focusing on children and youth services and digital instruction, as well as coordinating activities for the school library media specialization. During the 2018-19 academic year, she will be jointly teaching courses with Dr. Violet Harada, before assuming official duties in Fall 2019.

A 2015 LIS alumnus, Meera brings a unique set of experiences and skills to the program. She is currently an institutional analyst with Hawai‘i P-20 Partnerships for Education, an organization that works to improve Hawai‘i’s education systems from preschool through college. As part of her work with P-20, Meera has conducted numerous presentations at local and national summits and conferences. She is the newly elected co-president of the Hawai‘i Association of School Librarians along with Imelda Amano.

Meera received her BA degree in development studies at UC Berkeley where she also served as an academic adviser for college freshmen. On the Berkeley campus, Meera also co-taught in Gender and Women’s Studies. In addition, Meera served as a community corps member for Jumpstart for Young Children in San Francisco.

In Hawaiʻi, she has had field experiences teaching information literacy at Manoa Elementary and collaborating on public library programs for children and teens at Aina Haina Public Library. Having enjoyed a study abroad experience in Namibia, Meera brings an international perspective to her work. She is eagerly anticipating her new position:

I am very much looking forward to returning to the LIS program—this time as an instructor. With topics like civic engagement and data literacy popping up in library news, this is an exciting time to work with LIS students and help shape the future of our schools and libraries. I can’t wait to get started!